The invention relates to a bellows for an airplane boarding corridor for passengers, and to a corridor including such bellows.
Airplane boarding corridors for passengers are known that include a concertina bellows at one end of the corridor proper for application against the airplane fuselage around an access door of the airplane to protect passengers from the weather. Bellows for such corridors are described, for example, in NL-A-84 00266, DE-A1-3 023 885, FR-2 419 860, FR-2 521 950 or FR-2 525 556. Amongst the devices described in those documents, in order to extend and retract the bellows, some (NL-8400266 or FR-2 521 950) make use of winches with cables or belts, while others (FR-2 525 556) are actuated by hydraulic actuators which are associated with gas springs. The use of such cable or belt winches is, however, not without difficulty due to the tension in the cables or to the fact that they can become tangled, whereas devices using hydraulic actuators and gas springs can be subject to leaks, and they also press the sealing collar of the bellows against the fuselage of the airplane in non-uniform manner.
FR-2 672 267 describes a weatherproofing bellows that includes two independent actuator mechanisms, each including a linkage having a head coupled to the rod of an actuator whose cylinder can be adjustably inclined relative to the frame of the corridor.
Also, patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,195 describes a bellows for an airplane boarding corridor for passengers that is designed to be extended under the action of springs in the event of a fire and to surround the weatherproofing bellows. The mechanism for extending the bellows includes linkages whose branches are hinged to the frame. Since it has no drive means, the bellows of patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,195 cannot be used as bellows for weatherproofing, since such bellows need to be operated frequently.
Actuator devices of known types are complex and consequently difficult to manufacture and to keep in proper working order.
Thus, there exists a problem of providing weatherproofing bellows on airplane boarding corridors for passengers in association with an actuator device for such bellows that does not present the drawbacks of known devices.
Consequently, a general object of the invention is to provide a solution to this problem and in particular to provide an actuator device enabling a bellows of an airplane boarding corridor for passengers that can be adapted to the shapes of the various airplanes in existing fleets.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bellows whose actuator device constitutes a system that is simple, reliable, and easy to control both when extending and when retracting the bellows.
Another object of the invention is to provide such bellows and/or actuator device suitable for original installation on an airport boarding corridor, or else suitable for retrofitting to replace a portion of an assembly that is already installed.
Another object of the invention is to provide such bellows and actuator mechanism that ensure good sealing of the end collar of the bellows against the fuselage of the airplane to which it is to co-operate.
Another object of the invention is to provide such bellows and actuator system that are lightweight, easy to maintain, do not have any wear pieces, and which also continue to operate uniformly over time, in particular independently of temperature variations.
The invention achieves these objects by a bellows-actuating device that includes chambers which are inflatable (to extend the bellows) and deflatable (to allow the bellows to retract) on command, together with return means for urging the bellows towards the retracted condition. Advantageously, the inflatable chambers of the actuator device of the invention form at least two rows of tubes disposed symmetrically or substantially symmetrically about the longitudinal plane of symmetry of the bellows, each row being independently inflatable.
The invention mainly provides a weatherproofing bellows for an airplane boarding corridor for passengers, the bellows comprising a flexible tunnel-forming envelope, a resilient collar, and an actuator device for deploying the bellows to press the collar around an access door in the fuselage of an airplane, wherein the actuator device comprises chambers that are inflatable on command and that are secured to the flexible envelope to deploy the bellows.
The invention also provides a bellows, wherein the inflatable chambers are secured to the outside face of the tunnel-forming envelope, so as to avoid occupying space inside the bellows.
The invention also provides a bellows, wherein the inflatable chambers are in the form of elongate tubes and extend transversely relative to the axis of the bellows.
The invention also provides a bellows, including two pneumatic actuator devices disposed symmetrically about a longitudinal midplane of the bellows, each pneumatic actuator device comprising a row of tubes that are short relative to the width of the bellows.
The invention also provides a bellows, wherein the inflatable chambers are disposed on the roof of the bellows.
The invention also provides a bellows, including reinforcing members, and wherein successive reinforcing members are connected together at each pneumatic actuator device by pairs of small-section tubes.
The invention also provides a bellows, including compressed air feed for the inflatable chambers and means for limiting the pressure in the inflatable chambers so as to limit the force with which the collar presses against the fuselage of the airplane to a reference value.
The invention also provides a bellows, including return means for returning the bellows to the folded condition, the return means comprising counterweights connected by straps or cables to the collar.
The invention also provides a bellows, including a frame having tubular uprights for fixing to a corridor, the counterweights of the return means being mounted to move in translation in said tubular uprights.
The invention also provides an airplane boarding corridor for passengers including a bellows of the invention.